Federal Staff Cuts Continue and Land Sale Provision Announced for Nevada and Utah - Public Lands News (May 5 - 9)

What's Covered:

National Park Service Staff Consolidation: Over 1,600 NPS employees moved under Department of the Interior (DOI) control, stripping the Park Service of independent communications, ranger training, and operations oversight.

Midnight Amendment for Public Land Sales: The House Natural Resources Committee fast-tracked an amendment authorizing the sale of hundreds of thousands of acres in Nevada and Utah for tax breaks with no public comment or media notice.

Extractive Industries’ Wish List: How the reconciliation bill mandates offshore drilling, mining near the Boundary Waters, timber contracts, and NEPA loopholes to bypass environmental reviews.

Park Grants Targeted for Elimination: New York Times report details how the administration plans to cut $26 million in climate, Indigenous cultural, and DEI-focused public land programs.

Department of the Interior’s Budget Cuts: A proposed $5.1 billion (30.5%) cut and reorganization granting sweeping powers to DOGE allies.

Who Signed Off on the Sale?

Bruce Westerman — Arkansas, 4th District (Chairman)

Rob Wittman — Virginia, 1st District (Vice Chairman)

Tom McClintock — California, 5th District

Paul Gosar — Arizona, 9th District

Amata Coleman Radewagen — American Samoa, At-large

Doug LaMalfa — California, 1st District

Daniel Webster — Florida, 11th District

Russ Fulcher — Idaho, 1st District

Pete Stauber — Minnesota, 8th District

Tom Tiffany — Wisconsin, 7th District

Lauren Boebert — Colorado, 4th District

Cliff Bentz — Oregon, 2nd District

Jen Kiggans — Virginia, 2nd District

Wesley Hunt — Texas, 38th District

Mike Collins — Georgia, 10th District

Harriet Hageman — Wyoming, At-large

Mark Amodei — Nevada, 2nd District

Tim Walberg — Michigan, 5th District

Mike Ezell — Mississippi, 4th District

Celeste Maloy — Utah, 2nd District

Addison McDowell — North Carolina, 6th District

Jeff Crank — Colorado, 5th District

Nick Begich — Alaska, At-large

Mike Kennedy — Utah, 3rd District

Adam Gray — California, 13th District

Episode Sources:

Resistance Rangers Press Release - https://www.resistancerangers.org/press/hundreds-of-rangers-consolidated-to-doi-nps-communications-now-under-doge-oversight

New York Times: NPS Grant Cuts Report - https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/07/climate/trump-park-service-grants-cuts.html

BLM Public Comment Portal for September Lease Sale - https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2036690/510

Full Amendment Text and Bill Docs - https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/amodei-amendment-NVUT-Land-Sales.pdf